Education can change people’s lives and reduce Poverty as it brings us knowledge and builds our self-reliance. While knowledge is an endless term that covers all angles of our lives, I want to give you insight into a specific approach in teaching and learning – STEM Education.
STEM Education has recently been adopted by many schools from different countries, promising to be one of the leading fields with the most positive influences on students. There are reasons why these nations focus on adding this to educational systems.
What is STEM Education?
STEM Education refers to combining the four subjects, including Science, Technology, Engineerings, and Mathematics, in a school curriculum. The objective of STEM Education is to equip students with interdisciplinary knowledge from the mentioned four fields to support their ability to solve real-world problems.
A STEM classroom can be organized in various methods. Usually, teachers will assign students with Project-based activities to work together, conduct research, and build a science model. By working on their projects, students can observe the practical application of theories they learned in class which helps them absorb information faster.
Each subject component of STEM Education also provides students with a distinct field of knowledge. While Science teaches students how the natural environment works, technology allows them to understand the importance of technological advancement to humankind. Both Engineering and Mathematics challenge pupils to analyze and find feasible measures to solve a puzzle, enabling them to have solution-oriented mindsets.
The Benefits of STEM Education On Students
Combining the four subjects, STEM creates a multi-faceted approach to learning, supporting youngsters in their future careers. Among all advantages STEM Education can exert, the three benefits below are the most notable:
1. STEM fosters students’ critical thinking and inventiveness
Students stumble over many challenges that require innovative solutions of their own; therefore, they will have more opportunities to deeply research and experiment to come up with the most effective way to tackle a problem. By questioning and analyzing, they can look at an obstacle from diverse perspectives, improving their critical reasoning.
2. STEM introduces students to valuable digital knowledge
Early exposure to technological advancements allows students to have better digital literacy – the ability to search and asset information on digital platforms such as Google by navigating electronic gadgets. The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly emphasized the demand for citizens, especially the younger generation, to have decent knowledge in utilizing technology to study, work, and socialize. Not only does STEM Education teaches students about the technical aspect of electronic tools like using smartphone or computer, but it also transforms them into digital citizens who might maneuver the virtual world.
3. STEM increases students’ intrinsic values by encouraging them to work in teams
“The more, the merrier.” Teamworking is crucial for students because it strengthens their communication and social skills, namely planning, active listening, expressing ideas, and controlling emotions. Collaborating in a STEM project is an excellent opportunity for students to reinforce those interpersonal skills and equip themselves with one of the most-needed traits for a future successful employee.
How Can STEM Education Help Ending Poverty
Today students have become one of the most crucial digital workforces of the future industry, holding an essential key to transforming global economics. Equipping students with several soft skills, STEM Education plays a vital role in shaping a steady foundation for youth development. That includes solving the number one “No Poverty” goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Inequality Education is one of the culprits in widening the gap between the rich and the poor, so implementing STEM Education to poverty-stricken regions, specifically in rural areas, will be an approach to use Education to fight Poverty.
One technology company has gifted 652 sets of scientific toolboxes to support 43,903 primary and secondary school students in China. The organization aims to empower students to gain better scientific literacy to “enable greater diversity and provide minority or marginalized groups with more STEM education opportunities.”
STEM Education increases employability for students as it teaches them skills and knowledge that are significant in the professional world, namely critical thinking, teamworking, and digital knowledge. Only by providing the young generation with quality education can we prevent Generational Poverty and reach a further stage in building a World without Poverty. Because of its benefits, integrating STEM into the educational system is a central measure to support the global elimination of Poverty.
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